US concerned over the appointment of unqualified individuals to senior government positions

The US is concerned over “the Government of Kosovo’s appointments of unqualified individuals to senior government positions – including individuals convicted of war crimes, under active indictment for serious crimes, and suspected of serious abuses of poker”.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, the embassy says that “in a democracy, individuals appointed to high-level positions should project an ethical and qualified face to the world; Kosovo’s pattern of appointments, unfortunately, presents the opposite. Unqualified individuals, those whom the judiciary has punished or is actively pursuing for serious crimes, as well as those who have demonstrated willingness to act with impunity and abuse their authority, have no place in public office. Nominating these unqualified individuals undermines the public trust Kosovo is attempting to build, deprives the country of competent and reputable individuals best qualified to perform the work of government, and dishonors the victims of these individuals’ past offences. Further, it impedes Kosovo’s progress toward building an international reputation that would make it a desired partner of other nations, and strengthens the position of adversaries who would claim Kosovo is not committed to the rule of law.

The US embassy also calls on Kosovo’s leaders “to reflect on what face they wish Kosovo to show to the world. We call on Kosovo’s leaders to take this issue seriously and stop and reverse this trend in appointments of individuals, some of whom the Embassy has already named, whose selection appears to advance short-term political goals rather than the legitimate needs of the citizens of Kosovo or the credibility of the state”. /ibna/